STARKVILLE — Up next for Mississippi State is its toughest non-conference opponent of the season: Cincinnati.

The Bulldogs (8-0) will travel for the first time this season on Tuesday, too, when it takes on Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. The game will be played at BB&T Arena in Newport, Kentucky, due to renovations at the Bearcats’ Fifth Third Arena.

Cincinnati (7-2) lost 66-60 to No. 5 Florida on Saturday. The Bearcats are No. 25 in the AP poll but were bounced out of the coaches' poll. Ben Howland said MSU started preparing for the game on Wednesday and Thursday.

Here are three things to watch for when Mississippi State faces Cincinnati.

How many turnovers will MSU create?

Cincinnati has a problem with turnovers. It committed 21 of them against Florida and have at least 18 in four of their nine games. A lot of that can be attributed to sloppy ball-handling. Those are good signs for Mississippi State, which has improved defensively, and specifically on the perimeter.

MSU forces 17 turnovers per game, which is 35th in the country. Opponents are shooting only 37.5 percent against the Bulldogs, but MSU will need the extra possessions from takeaways to have a chance at an upset.

Offensive rebounds and Cincinnati

MSU has only lost the rebounding battle twice, but the Bulldogs have played inferior competition. Mississippi State ranks 349th of 351 Division I teams in strength of schedule. That changes Tuesday.

Cincinnati is a strong rebounding team, particularly on the offensive glass and averages 13.2 offensive rebounds per game. To put that number in perspective, MSU averages nine offensive rebounds per game. Therefore, expect the Bulldogs to continue to start Abdul Ado and Aric Holman in the frontcourt and will need decent games from E.J. Datcher and Schnider Herard off the bench.

What role will depth play in the game?

Cincinnati mostly used just a seven-man rotation against Xavier and Florida. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that, but not being able to go deeper than that in two straight games may catch up to the Bearcats if this is a close game late. Even in crunch time, Mississippi State has eight or nine players who can currently claim significant roles in the rotation.

Guard Eli Wright is expected to be available after serving a two-game suspension and the Bulldogs will have a full roster for the first time this season.